Fed’s Steps on Interest Rates and Data on Housing Starts

By The New York Times

March 15, 2015

Here are some of the top business stories to pay attention to in the coming week.

• Housing Starts, In Winter

On Tuesday, the Commerce Department will report data on new home construction in February. Most analysts are looking for a slight decline in new starts, to an annual rate of about 1.04 million, largely because of very cold weather last month. Although new construction of both single- and multifamily units has gradually strengthened over the last several years, the current level of activity is half what it was during the boom years of 2005 and 2006.

Single-family home construction in particular has been weak, with a much healthier recovery in multifamily properties. Some economists think that with unemployment down, and hints that wages might be rising more quickly, demand for single-family homes might rebound more strongly in 2015. That might or might not happen, but don’t expect much evidence either way in the data for February, given the deep freeze. —Nelson D. Schwartz

• Thinning Patience

The Federal Reserve, which meets Tuesday and Wednesday, is likely to take another step toward raising interest rates. Analysts expect the Fed to signal that it could raise rates as soon as June by removing the word “patient” from the policy statement it releases after the meeting. The Fed’s chairwoman, Janet L. Yellen, will hold a news conference after the statement is released. —Binyamin Appelbaum

• Electoral Tremors

A provincial election in the Netherlands on Wednesday could have an impact on the European natural gas markets. Political groups in the Groningen area of the Netherlands are essentially running against the way the Groningen gas field, Europe’s largest, is operated. The field is causing earthquakes, and growing pressure from the local population has already forced the central government to order the Shell-Exxon joint venture to trim production. But it could be forced to do more. —Stanley Reed

• Scanning Tax Dodges

The European Commission will lay out plans Wednesday to shine a brighter light on sweetheart tax deals that some European governments have granted multinationals. The proposal — a response to public indignation over the deals — would aim to push European Union member governments to exchange more information about the sort of tax arrangement Luxembourg offered to Amazon, and Ireland offered to Apple. Big member states like France and Germany broadly support the idea, and that should help it eventually win approval from governments. —James Kanter

• Deflating Property

China on Wednesday will release monthly data on residential property price trends in 70 major cities that are expected to reflect the slump in the housing market, a key benchmark for the overall health of the economy. In January, prices had fallen in 64 of the 70 cities when compared with December. Data released last week showed new housing starts, measured by floor space, fell 20 percent in the first two months of the year compared with a year earlier, while new land purchases by developers fell 32 percent. —Neil Gough

• Reliance on Russia?

European Union leaders meet in Brussels on Thursday for their spring summit meeting. The main focus is expected to be on whether the bloc should renew sanctions on Russia for its actions in Ukraine. Leaders will also hold a preliminary discussion about forging closer ties between their energy sectors, as concerns grow that some countries still rely too heavily on Russia for natural gas. The meeting is scheduled to continue Friday with discussions on the threat posed by instability in Libya. Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras of Greece could face questions about plans to reform his country’s economy. —James Kanter

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page B2 of the New York edition with the headline: Fed’s Steps on Interest Rates and Data on Housing Starts. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe